A
friend texted she had a craving for piquin/chiltepe peppers, so at lunch I
dashed to a Mexican market and got a jar of my own.
These
are the tiny guys. My 32-ounce Goya label indicated there were 375 servings
inside. Pickled pepper friends, these babies are brined and spicy. It’s funny
that little birds eat them from potted plants.
My
first thought was to mash some up into mayonnaise and spread that on brisket
sandwich. It hasn’t happened yet, but I’m in no danger of running out of
peppers.
A
little thing I do when a big batch of something comes into the house is package
it as attractively as possible in my pantry. I’ll be looking at it a long time,
after all. These round, green peppers went into a beautiful Mason jar.
I’ll
use them to adorn tomato and cucumber salads this season.
I’ve
enjoyed a LaGrange barbecue experience where the restaurant put vinegar into
bottles that once held whiskey. Some of these tiny, colorful peppers were
floating around in the bottle and people would douse their meal with this
flavor. I’ll be that was a story that northern visitors took home.
Spice
is part of our daily lives. When heat levels come up in conversation, I
sometimes note that jalapenos are often part of my breakfast. Turns out lots of
Southeast Texans have the same tradition. Give us spicy migas and salsa and
keep it coming.
The
piquin/chiltepe peppers have long stems. I experimented with tossing some into
the blender to see if they would dissolve into a salsa. I didn’t have enough
other ingredients to work with, so what I made was a mess.
Fortunately,
I have plenty of pickled peppers packed for Peter Piper and pals who pop in.
Darragh
Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie who likes it hot. If want to talk spicy to
her, contact Doiron at:
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